Since we had met so many times at Starbucks, I thought that
Taku and I needed a change of scenery. So, I asked Takuya if he would like to
be tutored at Atomic Coffee this session. He was excited by the idea because he
loved their coffee.
Taku had mentioned during our last tutoring session that he was going to
take a practice TOEFL exam over the weekend. We discussed his weaknesses and
the issues he had with the test. One of which was the timed speaking. He would
get nervous and forget which words he needed to use in order to complete a
thought.
Therefore, this time I brought with me a series of TOEFL timed speaking
questions. We went over the question’s structure and rubric then began working.
I gave Taku the test’s allotted 15 seconds for planning, and 45 seconds for
speaking. I was surprised by how little time students were given for their
planning. I would have a very difficult time coming up with French answers if I
had been in his position.
I noticed right away that Taku got
very flustered with the time restriction, especially if he wasn’t able to see
the time ticking away. I bumped up the time in order for him to be comfortable
with answering questions quickly. Then I placed my phone down so he could see the
time. This seemed to help with his anxiety, and soon enough I was cutting down
the time until we reached the normal 15 and 45 seconds. He was so much calmer
and answered in a timely manner.
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